MUSEUM EXHIBITS

MDC’s Museum exhibits explore topics relevant to the Iron Range, including geology, paleontology, Ojibwe culture, immigration, iron mining, and labor history.

We also curate temporary exhibits and pop-up exhibits, which investigate niche topics in depth. Temporary exhibits, housed in the Overlook Gallery, remain up for approximately two years. Pop-up exhibits, housed in the Central Hub, remain up for approximately three months.

Permanent Exhibits

MDC is home to several permanent indoor and outdoor exhibits that tell the stories of the natural and human history of northeastern Minnesota, the geographically, culturally unique region that is now known as the Iron Range.

Discover…

what Minnesota was like when dinosaurs roamed the Earth,
the relationship between seasonal change and Anishinaabe culture,
the “Old World” traditions that Scandinavian immigrants carried with them across the ocean,
what life was like for nineteenth- and twentieth-century immigrants,
the arduous struggle for the right to unionize in a blue-collar society,
… and more!

Unearth over 100 years of Iron Range labor history, from the dangers early iron miners faced, to the battles between companies and unions, and beyond.

Interested in learning about local labor history right now? Watch this short documentary on YouTube.

Learn how the Civilian Conservation Corps revitalized Minnesota during The Great Depression and contributed to our state’s unique relationship with the outdoors.

A summer-only exhibit.

Experience the trials, travails, and triumphs of early immigrants to Minnesota. Be sure to grab a “passport” to follow a specific person’s journey from their homeland to the “Land of Opportunity.”

Interested in learning more right now? Watch a video on YouTube.

Travel back in time and explore the Iron Range’s unique natural history, focusing on the key geological events that contributed to the formation of our region’s famous iron ore deposits: the Great Oxygenation Event, the mountain-building era, the Age of Dinosaurs, and glaciation.

Ride the trolley over to the Glen Location, a simulated mining location (AKA, a small, self-contained community early miners and their families would have lived in). There, you can explore historic buildings and view antique mining equipment.

A summer-only exhibit.

Learn about how early immigrant children received an education.

Discover how early homesteaders lived in this historic building. Faced with extreme elements, disease, and isolation, these newcomers had no choice but to learn self-sufficiency: they chopped trees to build their houses, cleared land to grow crops, battled predators to raise livestock, hunted for meat and fur, and handmade any necessities.

In the summer on Saturdays, local artists spin wool, flax, and other fibers in the Thompson Homestead.

This outdoor exhibit can be viewed from the outside via snowshoes in the winter!

Encounter a typical home for an early 20th-century pioneer. These historical “bachelor pads” were occupied by solo men who lived independent, solitary lives. Many worked in logging camps in the winter and hired themselves out as fishing, hunting, and trapping guides in the summer.

This outdoor exhibit can be viewed from the outside via snowshoes in the winter!

Learn about the history of the Sámi people, an indigenous Scandinavian community with a distinct culture and unique lifeways.

This outdoor exhibit can be viewed from the outside via snowshoes in the winter!

Discover one of the first automobile businesses in northern Minnesota.

Find out why Governor Perpich is a pivotal historical figure and how his passion for education led to the creation of the Iron Range Interpretive Center (which would later become the Minnesota Discovery Center).

Adventure into a male-dominated, alcohol-filled world at the turn of the twentieth century.

Discover nomadic life in the area that would become the Iron Range, when the earliest human social groups—and mammoths—roamed this land.

Partake in a time before the logging and mining industries truly took off, when fur trading meant everything for survival.

Explore the relational dynamic between Ojibwe people and the seasonal cycle.

See why extracting minerals from deep below the Earth’s surface proved challenging in underground iron mines.

Temporary Exhibits

MDC curates a variety of temporary exhibits, which are typically up for about two years. These exhibits investigate specific topics in depth, ones that had (and continue to have) significant impact on Minnesota and have enough surviving historical materials to fill an entire wing of our Museum.

Our current temporary exhibit is the award-winning Never Dry: The Rise of Prohibition on the Iron Range.

Explore twentieth-century Iron Rangers’ oft-contentious interactions with alcohol, from those whose attempted to enforce universal sobriety to those who skirted the law to keep the rum running.

Pop-Up Exhibits

Our pop-up exhibits are quarterly (that is, approximately three-month) displays made in collaboration with community partners. These exhibits explore Iron Range stories that often are overlooked in the history books, and they are opportunities for folks from diverse backgrounds to add their voices to Minnesota’s historical narrative.

Our current pop-up exhibit, Dom on the Range, celebrates Slovenian immigrant culture on the Iron Range. “Dom” means “home” in Slovenian; our curator is very proud of the pun.

The exhibit features several notable Slovenian descendants from the City of Chisholm, including Veda Ponikvar (the first woman publisher in Minnesota), John Blatnik (a former U.S. Representative), Jim Oberstar (a former U.S. Representative), Father Frank Perkovich (a Catholic priest known for his “Polka Masses”), and the Klobuchar family (various occupations).

The exhibit was made in conjunction with Zarja Fest, the Slovenian Union of America’s centennial celebration (held August 1, 2026, at MDC).

Past Temporary and Pop-up Exhibits

WE ARE WATER MN

A traveling exhibit from the Minnesota Humanities Center (hosted May 2021 – July 2021).

CARNIVAL OF CURIOSITIES

An in-house temporary exhibit
(on display October 2019 – April 2021).

Arts & Culture Exhibits

The Indigenous Museum Mural was crafted by regional artists Alexis Martinez and Moira Villiard. It is based on the story of the robin that Alexis’ grandfather, Vernon Adams, tells his children and grandchildren. Muralists Alexis and Moira visited her grandfather’s ancestral lands for inspiration, and the visit was filmed as the fourth installment of the docuseries Crafting Legacy.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.